“We’ve gone from low to high in the game. That was our idea. We knew it was going to be a game in which the legs were going to go (because of the state of the pitch),” he said.

“In the first 20 minutes the team suffered but then started playing better. And then in the second half they understood how to handle the game without the ball. We are doing well and this win gives us energy to prepare for the cup game on Thursday,” he added, referring to the Copa del Rey clash at home to Rayo Vallecano.

Simeone expressed his pleasure at how Atleti continue to work hard for each other in pursuit of the Spanish title, with the victory returning his team, surprise champions in 2013-14, to the top of the table.

“The guys who have come in the summer are growing and that gives us options in attack and solutions,” he said. “Neither [set of players] are better nor worse than the other but we have a group that is prepared to compete at any time.”